Kennesaw State to join Big South football

Kennesaw State has joined the Big South Conference as an associate member in football for the team's inaugural season in 2015.

Kennesaw State, located in Kennesaw, Ga., will be eligible for the Big South
championship and the conference's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs upon
entry. The new program will give the Big South seven football-playing members.

Kennesaw State will remain in the Atlantic Sun Conference, which doesn't
sponsor football, for other sports.

"The Big South Conference is very pleased to welcome Kennesaw State University
as a football member," Big South commissioner Kyle B. Kallander said
Wednesday.

"We have been impressed by the Owls' leadership and commitment to building a
strong FCS program with integrity and character. The addition of Kennesaw
State reflects the Big South's commitment to FCS football and to providing
opportunities for our student-athletes to compete for conference and NCAA
championships."

Kennesaw State, whose student enrollment is 24,600, will join Charleston
Southern, Coastal Carolina, Gardner-Webb, Liberty, Presbyterian and associate
member Monmouth, which will begin play in the Big South next year. Like
Monmouth, Kennesaw State's associate membership is for four years.

Kennesaw State announced the addition of football on Feb. 14 and hired Brian
Bohannon, formerly an assistant coach at Georgia Tech, as its first head coach
on March 24.